Sense
A device for real-time pollen measurement to provide early warning for allergy sufferers
(Team)
Leon Bork
Nele Schaal
(Duration)
5 months
(Topic)
Prototyping
Arduino
Usability Testing
Cinema 4D
In Germany, 12 million people suffer from a pollen allergy and have to rely on inaccurate, out-of-date measurement data due to a lack of pollen measuring stations. As a result, warnings about high levels of exposure usually come too late, namely when sufferers are already developing the first symptoms. At this point, however, it is often too late for effective preventative measures and those affected have to suffer from the symptoms of their allergy. That is why we have developed a concept for a device that warns allergy sufferers early and precisely of excessive pollen exposure, helping them to avoid symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Real-time data
Sense works with real-time data, featuring an integrated sensor that passively measures air quality at regular intervals. It also offers the option for active measurement, which can be triggered manually by pressing the orange button on the device.
Depending on the measurement results, the LED strip on the front changes. The higher the pollen concentration in the air, the more it rises. Once the personal exposure threshold, previously set in the app, has been reached, the LED indicator is fully lit, and the allergy sufferer receives vibration feedback as an early warning.
Emergency function
Sense features an emergency function that can be activated by sliding open the upper part of the device. If a high pollen exposure leads to an emergency, the wearer can press the SOS button to alert their emergency contacts stored in the app. The device also includes fall detection and automatically opens so that others can scan the QR code to access the emergency profile and provide assistance.
App
The app allows the user to set their personal threshold levels for the pollens they are allergic to, as well as configure an emergency profile and store emergency contacts.
Usability Testing
To test our concept and identify any potential issues or ambiguities, we built a functional prototype using Arduino and evaluated it with five participants as part of a usability test.
Community
With Sense, allergy sufferers become part of a community that supports one another, because each device acts as a new measuring station, collecting data to improve pollen forecasts. By protecting yourself, you're also protecting others.
